I was starting to doubt myself.”It seems hard to imagine, but that same Van Niekerk said he wanted to add the 200m and 100m back into his repertoire in 2017, and go hunting there too.He started the season pretty tamely, beaten by Gift Leotlela in a 100m dash on home soil.By the South African Championships he was picking up the pace, taking the 100m silver behind friend Akani Simbine, but then taking revenge in the 200m, winning that in a comfortable 19.90.But after he started competing abroad in the northern hemisphere summer, he found extra gears to show that he is growing into his new role as world-beater; he’s already being tipped as the heir apparent to Usain Bolt.Almost every run since has been special — a 9.94 100m personal best, a 19.84 200m national record, a 30.81 300m World best and then a 43.62 400m Diamond League-opener in Lausanne, a time only four other men have beaten throughout history.In less than a year, Van Niekerk has knocked off Johnson’s World, Olympic and Diamond League 400m records, as well as his 300m World best.In 1995, Johnson won the 400m in 43.39 and the 200m in 19.79, times that were then Championship records and which are surely both within reach of Van Niekerk.The South African has the 400m world lead and is second in the 200m behind the 19.77 belonging to Isaac Makwala from neighbouring Botswana.It’s probably worth remembering that, back in 2015 Van Niekerk broke Makwala’s 400m African record in early July, but his rival took it back the next day.

I grew and experienced so much more being injured than not being injured.That approach eventually paid dividends, with a personal best 45.09 over 400m in Ostrava in June 2013, after securing a first national title over his now specialist distance, as well as an appearance at the Moscow World Championships, albeit one that ended with an exit in the heats.However, it was only in the 2014 season that Van Niekerk really found his feet on the world stage.“That was the first year where I’ve been injury free for the whole year,” he says. All Rights Reserved. On a night when Usain Bolt stole the headlines, it was South Africa's Wayde van Niekerk who delivered one of the standout performances of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

©2019 World Athletics. 19 MAY 2020 I just tried to keep it up,” said Van Niekerk, who crossed the line in 43.48sec.Before the Olympics coach Botha had predicted he would compete regularly in the 200m. It complements the 400m … he will really excel in the 200m.”After setting the 2016 Rio Games alight with his 43.03sec run, Van Niekerk hasn’t taken his foot off the accelerator.He took time off, a critical ploy to keep what used to be a frail body injury free. I’m not going to waste it. News “After that, I kept on getting niggles and scares and it’s taken all of these years (to get back).”Only after joining Ans Botha, the great-grandmother coach, in 2012, did he switch to the 400m.“The 100m requires explosive speed,” said Botha, who is known to her athletes as Tannie Ans, Afrikaans for Aunty Ans.

I had to start from scratch,” he said.“I had to tell myself from the beginning that I need to take responsibility for the decision I’ve made.”The postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games has likely given van Niekerk vital time to get back to his best before he defends his crown.This forecast is designed to be a quick overview of what lies in store.TheSouthAfrican.com is all about South Africa and the stories that affect South Africans, wherever they are in the world. The allotted parking area next to the Olympic Stadium had room for a maximum of 2,000 vehicles, nowhere near enough to meet the demand during Games time. ATHLETE'S CODE “I kinda knew he’s the one to beat. We use cookies to collect and analyse information on site performance and usage, and to enhance and We decided to build a nice base, try and fix everything, every little niggle, strengthen what needed to be strengthened and then this year I started doing proper gym sessions. Wayde van Niekerk heads into the 2017 IAAF World Championships looking to win the first 200m-400m double since Michael Johnson at the 1995 edition, which the US star then repeated at the 1996 Olympic Games. In the 400 metres, he is the current world and Olympic record holder, and Olympic champion. Because of his sporting talents, he ended up getting a scholarship to the prestigious Grey College high school.Initially keen on the high jump, he switched focus to sprinting after qualifying for the 200m at the 2010 World Junior Championships in Moncton, Canada.“I’d started training for the sprints at the end of 2009, having done high jump,” he recalled.“My last height was about 2.04 or 2.05, but the fact that I qualified for the World Juniors in the 200m meant that the sprints chose themselves and after that I started concentrating on the 200m and 400m.”“It was my first time competing abroad and surprisingly I made it through to the finals. That’s where my mind is at, that’s where my heart is at,” van Niekerk told “That’s just the competitor in me and for me to settle for anything less than that would mean I’m doing an injustice to myself and the team working for me.“I have this deep desire to be out of reach.

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